Longtime Bankaholic reader, Thai, emailed me to give me the heads up about a new and disturbing fee at WaMu.

The following statement appears on current Washington Mutual statements which have check writing options:

“When a check written on your account is presented at a Washington Mutual financial center by someone who is not a Washington Mutual account holder, the presenter will be charged a $5 per item fee. The Check Cashing Fee is deducted from the proceeds of the item. We will waive the fee if the check is presented at the branch of account on which the check was drawn or our home office branch, and upon request if the person cashing the check is 18 years or younger. (This change is effective immediately for FL and WA accounts; for all others, it is effective December 1, 2008). Not applicable to checks drawn on WaMu business checking accounts.”

Long story short, it looks like WaMu is trying to prevent funds from leaving their bank by tacking on a $5 fee. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of any bank doing something like this.

US Bank is running a deal where you can get free $100 gas for applying for the US Bank Cash Bonus Check Card with a checking account and linking it up with an Exxon mobile Speedpass key tag.

Remember, this only works at Exxon Mobil gas stations. This deal expires September 07, 2008.

It’s becoming more of a reality with each passing day even if politicians are averse to use the proper term.

We are in a recession.
The combination of rising fuel costs, the war in Iraq, the rising price of food and the mortgage crisis in this country has put us in a severe economic downturn. Call it what you want but it has made many of feel extremely uneasy about our future.

How will we continue to live the lifestyles we’ve grown accustomed to? Is it possible? One way to ensure that you’ll come out of this horrendous period of economic history in decent shape is to find a career that can go relatively untouched by a wretched economy.

Here are five careers to consider if this is a concern of yours:
Click here to read more

HSBC is running a deal on their Plus Checking Account. Sign up and get $75. To qualify for the deal you must open an account with $4000 in new money (non HSBC funds).

Please read the fine print. You need $15,000 balance in your account to avoid monthly fees. Also, your account must be open for at least 180 days.

The credit crunch won’t be over until home values stop tanking, and that won’t happen until mortgage rates are low enough to attract new buyers.

Considering that mortgage rates are at their yearly highs since the early 2000s (according to Bankrate data), and that the Fed has nearly exhausted it’s toolbox of financial instruments to stabilize the credit markets, I’d say we have a long, long, ways to go until this whole mess is over.

I’ve been in contact with a local Realtor who observes that buyers with good credit are facing unreasonably high rates while buyers with mediocre credit can’t even get a loan at all—renting is by far a more favorable option in this environment.

Fannie / Freddie recently upped their fees that they charge lenders because it is getting more and more expensive to insure mortgages as defaults rise. Lenders pass these fees onto the home-buyer in the form in increased rates, points, and closing fees.

A lot of developments will revolve around the Treasury’s ’solution’ to bailout Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac. These companies buy up or guarantee over half of the country’s mortgages so that lenders will have enough capital to re-loan to new home-buyers. There is absolutely no way that either of these companies can stop functioning—failure would be financial armageddon.

Stabilizing Fannie / Freddie will be the first step toward bringing rates down to a reasonable level. The problem is, in every possible scenario, whether it is nationalization or a bail-out, it will be the tax payers who will be footing the bill.

Until then, stay on the sidelines because home values have a long ways to go down.

A few weeks ago we had a huge discussion about WaMu’s secret in-branch rates.

Now, Washington Mutual has quietly rolled out a killer 5.00% APY interest rate on their 12-month and 13-month CD accounts.

Although I strongly believe that this rate hike is a sign of desperation (have you seen their stock lately?) from WaMu, this yield is so awesome that it’s not going to stop me from opening an account. Just be sure to stay within FDIC insurance limits!

Rumor is that this promotion is valid until 8/29/2008, so keep that in mind if you are interested in this.

Hats off to Bankaholic reader Raymond for tipping me off on this white hot rate.

Related popular articles:

• 3 Warning Signs Your Bank May Fail
• Is Your Bank Safe From Collapse?

WTDirect is running a free bonus offer on their 3.31% APY savings account. If you open an account by September 5th, you will receive a bonus based on your deposit amount.

Customers that keep a balance for 60 days earning our high rate will receive a bonus of $100-$250.

• $100 if your balance is between $10,000-$14,999
• $150 if your balance is between $15,000-$19,999
• $200 if your balance is between $20,000-$24,999
• $250 if your balance is $25,000+

This is not a bad deal, you basically get a 1% bonus on your deposit after 60 days.

Discover is offering a $50 sign-up deal for signing up for their card and making $500 in purchases. This is not the hottest of deals, but signup deals in general have been getting more and more rare.

Bankaholic reader Doug M. emailed me to tip me off on a white-hot 4.60% APY 18-month CD at Downey Savings.

After doing some research on this bank, there are some reasons that this bank may be in trouble.

• Banks that offer unusually high deposit rates are desperate for cash.
• Downey Financial (NYSE:DSL) stock is tanking. Smart investors know what kind of shape this company is in.
• They were heavy in the California mortgage lending business. From their profile on Yahoo Finance: “As of March 14, 2007, it operated 169 branches in California and 4 branches in Arizona.” We all know that California real-estate has been hit hard by the credit crunch.

If you are interested in doing more research on Downey Savings, see Mortgage-Lender Implode.

Be careful out there with your money.